Enough with NY-21 birtherism

The North Country is a special place. But do you have to be born here to represent the region in Congress?

The election was just six months ago, but the cycle for New York’s 21st Congressional District is well underway.

Democrats are licking their chops at the prospect of unseating Rep. Elise Stefanik, a Republican.

Mid-term elections are historically bad for the governing party. Add an unpopular president, an inflamed electorate and the lawmaker’s vote for a controversial health care bill —

Whammo, it’s a recipe for success.

Four Democratic candidates have entered the race and party brass have said they envision as many as nine vying for the nomination.

The Green Party, too, is expected to field a candidate.

So it’s with this early interest that we want to nip a pesky issue in the bud.

Birthright.

Candidates are already tripping over themselves to stress their native credentials.

The refrain goes like this:

“I’m Candidate X, and I was born here in the North Country. Only I can understand issues A, B and C. As such, I’m the only one who can represent you.”

It’s the North Country’s very own birther issue.

As per federal law, representatives must be an inhabitant of the state they represent.

That’s it.

North Country birtherism dominated the GOP primaries in 2014 when Matt Doheny touted his native bonafides against Stefanik, an Albany County native who set up a political homebase in Willsboro to run for office.

During the general election, Aaron Woolf never managed to effectively parry attacks that he was an outsider despite coming here since he was a kid and his deep community involvement.

Two years later, Mike Derrick made residency a campaign centerpiece.

While he came out of the gate with a polished talking point — I was born here, served my country and now I’m back to serve my community — it didn’t make a lick of difference, and he was trounced by even wider margins.

We’re now seeing a repeat of these talking points as Democrats line up to topple Stefanik.

One candidate is leading her early pitch to voters with the birthright issue.

Another glossed over the fact that she was born elsewhere, but told a reporter she’d been vacationing here since she was a kid.

The polished response was undoubtedly gleaned from years of careful study.

This trope is one of the most cringeworthy aspects of politics in this district.

No candidate has ever successfully made a case for how being born here will allow them to be a better representative for the some 400,000 constituents who live here year-round.

It’s clear voters simply do not care.

So why should the candidates?

While the North Country is full of unique traditions, it’s also a place where brain drain remains a problem, and that large sucking sound you hear every summer is the sound of young people leaving.

And while we admit the allure of the hometown kid going to Washington, D.C. does have its charms, residency does not indicate a leader’s ability to serve their constituents.

Political success is based on a complex formula, not the least of which is who you know, how well you deliver for your constituents, as well as shrewdness and a killer instinct.

In being from here, perhaps you’ll be more fluent in North Countryese, but we can’t imagine it being an asset in a 435-member body that’s paralyzed by inaction and infighting.

We’re in contact with bright people daily.

Some are from here, some aren’t.

The author of this editorial didn’t move here until late-2013.

But that hasn’t stopped him from reporting on some of the most pressing issues facing local people in the Adirondack Park, and winning numerous awards for this newspaper in the process.

Blasting the birthright argument is not a partisan issue, nor is it a referendum on the current office-holder.

Candidates shouldn’t be faulted for pre-emptively addressing this issue — it’s just the result of years of conditioning.

But we can’t think of anything more counterproductive than a growing field of hopefuls all trying to out “North Country” themselves as this race slogs towards the finish line.

At the end of the day, it should be about your credentials, work ethic and the contents of your character — not your birth certificate.